FDA approves Laser Headlight, when will Tesla have it?

[ecarfan]

The problem with swiveling and auto-leveling head lights, in the general sense, is that no one really cares. There's no bang for your buck. In the world I live in, I have yet to come across a single person complain about their headlights bouncing or not aiming with them in turns, nor have I ever encountered someone rave about their car having such features (if ever anyone I've talked to had such features on their car). It's fine if Tesla wants to someday sell it as an option, but I can understand if it's not a high priority.

Beginning when I was a car-crazed teenager, 45 years ago, I have always wondered why headlights did not turn when I turned the steering wheel and I have always wanted a car that had that feature not just seems logical to me (I thought the Citroen was really cool for having that feature). When I initiate a turn I want my headlights to illuminate the part of the road where I will be in the next few seconds, not an area where I definitely will not be! I am looking forward to someday owning a Tesla that has such a feature, and I will pay extra for it n

 

[jerry33]

The problem with swiveling and auto-leveling head lights, in the general sense, is that no one really cares. There's no bang for your buck. In the world I live in, I have yet to come across a single person complain about their headlights bouncing or not aiming with them in turns, nor have I ever encountered someone rave about their car having such features (if ever anyone I've talked to had such features on their car). It's fine if Tesla wants to someday sell it as an option, but I can understand if it's not a high priority.

I'm certainly one person who raves about the turning headlights on the DS-21 I had about forty years ago. I still miss them. Note that they were not like the ones today that barely turn, they would light up the road around hairpin turns. The only reason that people don't complain is that they've never driven a car with real turning headlights. Even the best lights today seem lacking by comparison.

 

[AWDtsla]

Does Tesla S need self leveling lights like a JEEP? No.
The air suspension I've got does the job nicely at keeping the car parallel to the ground, no matter how much I load up the car to its limits.

Have you seen how much front end lift/back end dive a D car has under acceleration? You realize you've just flashed everyone.... Air suspension does _nothing_ for this. I really hope the car has self-leveling lights.. I'll find out hopefully in a few days.

 

[AudubonB]

About self-leveling lights:

Those of you who have the high-end autos that do feature them - what sort of time lag can you perceive? Are they always trying to play catch up, or are they close to spot-on up-and-down as the car goes down-and-up?

 

[ecarfan]

The problem with swiveling and auto-leveling head lights, in the general sense, is that no one really cares... In the world I live in, I have yet to come across a single person complain about their headlights bouncing or not aiming with them in turns...

In the world we all live in, people often don't know they want something because they've never had it and they can't imagine how much they would like it if they had it.
Steve Jobs was skilled at figuring out what product people would want before the product existed. While it's true that a tiny number of car models have had headlights that turn when the car turns, almost no one is aware that such a thing exists now or has existed in the past. But once someone has had a car with that feature, they love it and want to make sure they have it in their next car.
Kind of like the way most people have never owned an EV, but after owning one they never want to own another ICE. I think most Tesla owners meet that description.

 

[Mike K]

About self-leveling lights:

Those of you who have the high-end autos that do feature them - what sort of time lag can you perceive? Are they always trying to play catch up, or are they close to spot-on up-and-down as the car goes down-and-up?

Imagine a camera stabilizer where the camera might be shaking but the footage just shows smooth motion. It's like that. It smooths out the up and down motion of the lights when driving.

 

[bradhs]

Our 2015 BMW 750 has LED lighting, they also dynamically turn into corners and are amazingly accurate at lighting up what you want lit up. I'm on my second Tesla (P85D now) and had hoped Tesla would have figured it out by now. I'm sure we will see this in a few years, they'll likely have to assign a few engineers to the project which they, again, likely don't have to spare considering all their efforts are on AutoPilot, Model X, Model 3, million mile motor, etc.

 

[aus]

About self-leveling lights:

Those of you who have the high-end autos that do feature them - what sort of time lag can you perceive? Are they always trying to play catch up, or are they close to spot-on up-and-down as the car goes down-and-up?

Self leveling isn't only on high end cars. It's even on Honda's with HID. They work great. You don't even notice they're working. The light is just pointed where it's suppose to be pointed. I'm actually shocked cars can have HID and not have self leveling.

Tesla has awesome HIDs. Best headlights I've ever driven in any car I've owned.

You must have driven cars with halogen bulbs before. :/

Does Tesla S need self leveling lights like a JEEP? No.
The air suspension I've got does the job nicely at keeping the car parallel to the ground, no matter how much I load up the car to its limits.

Tesla S has cornering lights that come on and are useful at low speed parking lot maneuvers, let's not forget those.

Not sure, from a practical sense, if I need lights to gently sway left or right to follow the curvature of a bending road... the BEAM WIDTH on low and high seems to provide enough light to where I'm going to be going at the speeds I'm getting there.

I want simpler things where possible. Less to malfunction or break. Less weight. A carefully constructed beam pattern is awesome and can do away with electromechanical gizmos to compensate for poor work in that area. I'm kinda bummed the HID's use a mechanical flapper to select low/high output.

In one sentence you say you want things simpler and lighter and then you say you prefer Air Suspension, which is WAY more complex and weighs more than coils. And as someone already said, does NOTHING to keep your headlights level as you're driving.
Have YOU ever driven a car with and without steering headlights on a dark (meaning no street lights) twisty road? It's a HUGE difference, IMO. Cornering lights definitely help for slower speeds, like in a parking lot, and other manufactures have them IN ADDITION to steering HID's. You don't even notice the headlights are turning because they just light up where you're looking. It's when you're driving a rental and realize how much you can't see without the steering lights.

Keep adding sh*t and you'll end up with another model X... ! A little on the tubby side shall we say?

And shouldn't a fully autonomous car be able to drive itself at night without visible light at all? No headlights, waste of energy, you know..

The MS is already almost 1,000 lbs over a similar BMW or Mercedes. 5-10 extra pounds that make the headlights turn with the steering wheel and autolevel is TOTALLY worth it, IMO.
I'm pretty sure autopilot relies on the road markings to navigate still.

.
Tesla is so far behind in headlight tech it's embarrassing. Start at 2 min if you want to skip the fluff. We just need DOT to approve some new lighting technology.

.

 

[pete8314]

Have you seen how much front end lift/back end dive a D car has under acceleration? You realize you've just flashed everyone.... Air suspension does _nothing_ for this. I really hope the car has self-leveling lights.. I'll find out hopefully in a few days.

I always thought that it was mandatory to have auto-levellers and washer jets for xenon/HID headlights. At least, it was in the UK when they were first introduced. Obviously the S doesn't have the washers jets, so that regulation no longer exists, I guess.

 

[ecarfan]

I always thought that it was mandatory to have auto-levellers and washer jets for xenon/HID headlights. At least, it was in the UK when they were first introduced. Obviously the S doesn't have the washers jets, so that regulation no longer exists, I guess.

In the US auto-leveling and headlight washer jets are not mandated. The US is behind Europe in that regard.

 

[Caligula]

Have you seen how much front end lift/back end dive a D car has under acceleration? You realize you've just flashed everyone...

You're doing full throttle acceleration runs with people in front of you?

 

[bradhs]

Totally agree with you Aus... I know Tesla will catch up, just had hoped it would have been sooner.

Self leveling isn't only on high end cars. It's even on Honda's with HID. They work great. You don't even notice they're working. The light is just pointed where it's suppose to be pointed. I'm actually shocked cars can have HID and not have self leveling.




You must have driven cars with halogen bulbs before. :/




In one sentence you say you want things simpler and lighter and then you say you prefer Air Suspension, which is WAY more complex and weighs more than coils. And as someone already said, does NOTHING to keep your headlights level as you're driving.
Have YOU ever driven a car with and without steering headlights on a dark (meaning no street lights) twisty road? It's a HUGE difference, IMO. Cornering lights definitely help for slower speeds, like in a parking lot, and other manufactures have them IN ADDITION to steering HID's. You don't even notice the headlights are turning because they just light up where you're looking. It's when you're driving a rental and realize how much you can't see without the steering lights.




The MS is already almost 1,000 lbs over a similar BMW or Mercedes. 5-10 extra pounds that make the headlights turn with the steering wheel and autolevel is TOTALLY worth it, IMO.
I'm pretty sure autopilot relies on the road markings to navigate still.

.
Tesla is so far behind in headlight tech it's embarrassing. Start at 2 min if you want to skip the fluff. We just need DOT to approve some new lighting technology.

.

 

[whitex]

Yes, according to the above article they're 30% more energy efficient.
This is now my most wanted feature for the Model S!

Careful what you wish for. As is, then the temperatures gets wet and cold, most of my headlights fog up, except for what is burned off by the HID heat. When the temperatures drop below freezing the the lights frost over, only about a 2-3" circle is clear of the frost even after half an hour of driving. If the headlights become much more efficient, there will be no heat to burn a hole in the frost of fog (PS. rear lights do not defrost while on, they are LED). Of course there could be dedicated headlight defrosters added that turn on only when cold, together with AP camera defroster (not there today) since the camera is needed for laser headlights as per bwm movie in this thread.

 

[AudubonB]

I absolutely second that, Whitex. In Alaska, Slope haulers (the trucks that service the nation's northernmost road, that going to/from Prudhoe Bay) quickly developed a love/hate relationship with LEDs. The massive light bars now available do a fantastic job illuminating the road, and moose, caribou, and other hazards, far better and more direct able than any HID or lesser illuminators. However, because they also don't emit any heat, they quickly become utterly worthless in the near-endless winter there - unless otherwise heated.

 

[Max*]

Prediction: Self leveling, self turning, laser headlights $2,500 up-sell or $6,500 retrofit .

Sigh, I'd likely hit buy-it-now.

 

[mspohr]

I absolutely second that, Whitex. In Alaska, Slope haulers (the trucks that service the nation's northernmost road, that going to/from Prudhoe Bay) quickly developed a love/hate relationship with LEDs. The massive light bars now available do a fantastic job illuminating the road, and moose, caribou, and other hazards, far better and more direct able than any HID or lesser illuminators. However, because they also don't emit any heat, they quickly become utterly worthless in the near-endless winter there - unless otherwise heated.

Laser headlights seem to be a gimmick which might be a little more efficient than LEDs but don't really have any other advantage.
Laser headlights work the same as LED lights. They both shine a blue light into a yellow phosphor which turns the blue light into "full spectrum" white light. This diffuse white light then goes through mirrors and lenses and is projected onto the road.
Since both systems start with blue light and have to manufacture white light using a phosphor and then have to deal with focusing this diffuse white light, there really isn't any difference.
(Both sources are efficient so no waste heat to melt the snow. You'll have to deal with the moose either way.)

 

[AWDtsla]

Laser headlights seem to be a gimmick which might be a little more efficient than LEDs but don't really have any other advantage.
Laser headlights work the same as LED lights. They both shine a blue light into a yellow phosphor which turns the blue light into "full spectrum" white light. This diffuse white light then goes through mirrors and lenses and is projected onto the road.
Since both systems start with blue light and have to manufacture white light using a phosphor and then have to deal with focusing this diffuse white light, there really isn't any difference.
(Both sources are efficient so no waste heat to melt the snow. You'll have to deal with the moose either way.)

They are not a gimmick. They can exclude a small area from excessive glare, like an oncoming car, while lighting up _everything_ else.

 

[mspohr]

They are not a gimmick. They can exclude a small area from excessive glare, like an oncoming car, while lighting up _everything_ else.

I don't see how they could do that.
They have to convert the blue laser light single beam to white light using a phosphor. Then, they have to work with the diffuse white light from the phosphor. They use a series of lenses and mirrors to focus that light but by the time they have made the white light, they have lost any advantage they might have had from the ability to aim the blue laser. A single laser beam is useless as a headlight since it is blue and is focused on one spot.
They might be able to diffuse, focus and block the light using mirrors and lenses but no reason they couldn't do that with a LED light source.

 

[Cyclone]

I absolutely second that, Whitex. In Alaska, Slope haulers (the trucks that service the nation's northernmost road, that going to/from Prudhoe Bay) quickly developed a love/hate relationship with LEDs. The massive light bars now available do a fantastic job illuminating the road, and moose, caribou, and other hazards, far better and more direct able than any HID or lesser illuminators. However, because they also don't emit any heat, they quickly become utterly worthless in the near-endless winter there - unless otherwise heated.

Sadly, given Tesla's history of "solutions engineered in Southern California", this is likely how they implement it. Then we get the threads about unsafe, useless headlights because they are all fogged up!

 

[AudubonB]

1. Cyclone: "Fogged up" is nothing! I'm talking about completely covered with a 1-6" coating of road ice! But that's the right (i.e., wrong) track.

2. mspohr: If you go through Gentex Corp's investor video (apologies - haven't the link in front of me), you can learn how they have engineered headlights to make AWDtsla's remark about exclusion zones become a reality. It's cool stuff!